Parasite actor Lee Sun-kyun laid to rest, family and colleagues bid final farewell


Mourners carrying a coffin and portrait of South Korean actor Lee Sun-kyun leave after his funeral in Seoul, South Korea, on Dec 29, 2023. - Reuters

SEOUL: A private funeral for late South Korean actor Lee Sun-kyun was held at the Seoul National University Hospital on Dec 29, after which his body was taken to a crematorium.

The ceremony was attended by his wife, actress Jeon Hye-jin, his two sons, and many of the Parasite star’s colleagues, including Gong Hyo-jin, Ryu Seung-ryong and Lee Sung-min.

Parasite (2019) director Bong Joon-ho and co-stars Park So-dam and Park Myung-hoon visited the funeral home on Dec 28, as did acclaimed auteur Park Chan-wook and actors Jung Woo-sung and Lee Jung-jae.

Grieving fans of the 48-year-old actor stuck handwritten notes at the front of the hospital.

One wrote: “Thank you for being Lee Sun-kyun. The works you have created with your efforts and sincerity have saved countless people. We’re sorry we couldn’t do anything for you when you were having a hard time.”

A series of entertainment industry events in South Korea were cancelled so that people could offer condolences to Lee.

Seoul’s Gangnam district – known for expensive apartments, high-end bars, clubs and a cluster of plastic surgery clinics – has been at the centre of a series of high-profile drug scandals.

Lee had been suspected of using illicit drugs at the residence of a hostess employed at a high-end bar in the glamorous district.

He had denied knowingly taking the drugs, saying he was “tricked” into doing so by the hostess, against whom he had filed a complaint for blackmail and extortion, according to South Korea’s Yonhap news agency.

Lee had tested negative for drugs twice, once during police investigations and again in a lab last month, Yonhap reported.

South Korean police said on Dec 29 they had transferred a plastic surgeon, who operates a clinic in Gangnam, to the prosecution for the alleged illegal supply of drugs to the bar hostess.

Among the drugs that Lee allegedly took was ketamine, which was involved in a 2018 date-rape scandal at Gangnam’s Burning Sun nightclub, then run by the now-disgraced and convicted K-pop star Seungri.

This year, a man was sentenced to life in prison for orchestrating a kidnapping and murder that involved ketamine also illicitly obtained from a plastic surgery clinic in Gangnam.

Lee’s death has prompted public criticism of the media and police, who questioned him for 19 hours a few days before his death.

“There was no need to name the suspect in the investigation”, Vladimir Tikhonov, professor of Korea studies at the University of Oslo, told AFP.

“In South Korea – to a much larger degree than in any European country with higher degrees of tolerance for the use of psychotropic stuff – being named as a suspect in a drug investigation is a punishment per se, by social ostracism.”

Yu Hyun-jae, a communications professor at Sogang University, told a local broadcaster that Lee’s case can be considered a “social murder”, with the media, police and the public sharing responsibility.

Incheon Metropolitan Police chief Kim Hee-joong defended the “entire investigation process”, which he said was conducted “in compliance with legal procedures”.

“There was no leakage (to media) of investigation details as raised by some,” he told reporters on Thursday.

South Korea has tough laws on illegal drugs, with President Yoon Suk Yeol declaring a “war on drugs” after taking office last year. - AFP

Follow us on our official WhatsApp channel for breaking news alerts and key updates!

South Korea , Parasite , actor , Lee Sun-kyun , funeral

   

Next In Aseanplus News

Kedah MB must explain why BZI pulled out of RM40bil Langkawi project, says Sg Petani MP
Children suffer as schools go online in polluted and worsening air conditions in Delhi
Pahang exceeds RM1bil in revenue collection for a third straight year
Jaiswal slams unbeaten 90 as India seize control against Australia; Rahul chips in stylish 62
Hong Kong seniors celebrate life with mass marriage vow renewal
Asean News Headlines at 10pm on Saturday (Nov 23, 2024)
Rallying-Neuville fights back in Japan to close on first world title
Vietjet launches Hanoi-Kuala Lumpur route, aims to boost Asean connectivity
Singaporean man nabbed for allegedly faking bomb threat at Don Mueang airport in Bangkok
After gastroscopy went wrong, Singaporean lies in vegetative state in S. Korea, waiting to go home

Others Also Read